ste_noni

Today has been a great day. Days that are so all around great don’t happen often, so I want to remember this one.

First, we went to church this morning. We just happened to sing one of my favorite songs – it is about praising God during the good and bad in life and recognizing that he gives and takes away and that we should (can?) worship him in the good and the bad. I was holding Ellie and singing and we got to this part about “he gives and takes away” and suddenly I thought about my babies, particularly the two I never had. 33% is a pretty crappy success rate, even if I do know others with worse. But then my mind turned to the 33% I was holding in my arms and I instantly had tears rolling down my cheeks. Because I love her that much. As much as the others were taken from me, she was given to me. She is an amazing gift and if she’s the only baby I ever have, it will be enough. It just felt like the song went straight to me.

We came home and napped (yay!) and I have to say there is nothing quite as wonderful as laying in bed with your peacefully sleeping baby, husband and two dogs.

Then, we got up, took Ellie to my friend’s house, and we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean. It was so good – funny in lots of ways. Joe and I both agreed it was better than either of the other two. I don’t feel like cut-tagging so I’ll leave it at that, but it was a ton of fun.

We went back to my friend’s house and had homemade pizza and apple cobbler with her and her husband while the two little girls played. Great company, great food, and great drinks ( strawberry margaritas and port, but not together). Ellie gets along so well with their daughter who is about 6 months older. We swap babysitting every few weeks and it’s always fun to have their daughter over. It’s so nice to know that Ellie is having fun and being cared for in a way that makes me comfortable.

So, in all, it was a great day. Last night, Joe and I went to his ROTC end of year ball, which was fantastic. And Ellie fell asleep for the babysitter which was a first and therefore fantastic too.

Tomorrow, the family from tonight is coming over for a very American barbecue – hamburgers, hot dogs, and ribs. It’s my way of making it seem like Memorial Day. Plus all of us are taking off for different parts of the world in a few weeks (Joe leaves first on Friday for 6 week but I won’t see him until the end of August because I’m going to training in Georgia after July 4th, although he may come visit me there for a few days) so this is our last chance for the four of us to hang out until September.